Inevitability
by mockingjay341
Summary: Many things seemed inevitable to Clancy Crew; this, he had to admit, was not one of those things. (Two-shot, Ruby/Clancy hurt comfort!)
1. Before

**A/N: Here you go; a hopefully satisfying ending to this one! Enjoy!**

 **P.S - Sorry that Ruby is kind of OOC in this, but I think it's kind of justified...**

 **P.P.S - There will be a second part. ;)**

...

"This is crazy!" Ruby shouted through the glass, banging her fists against it one more time. "What are you, some kind of Bond Villain?!"

"Rube-" Clancy moved to put a hand on her arm but she flinched away.

"Just a minute, Clance." She gasped, but it was weak and not in the least bit aggressive. She crouched against the glass and closed her eyes, breathing deeply.

Clancy took the hint and and let her be, instead starting to hunt around for anything they could use to escape. This didn't last long; the glass tank they'd been sealed in was only about 3 by 3 feet, and completely empty, other than a drain in the very centre of the floor. Clancy had a very bad feeling about that. Their captor, meanwhile, was long gone - apparently not sticking around to watch their demise. He turned back to Ruby and noticed with panic that she was practically hyperventilating, no longer breathing deeply, but shallowly and rapidly.

"Ruby!" He crouched beside her and took her hand carefully.

"Clancy-" She warned.

"Deep breaths, ok?" He told her, gripping her hand tighter as she tried to pull away.

"Too- small-" Ruby finally gave in, letting him help her. "Can't- focus-"

"Hey, it's alright," Clancy stopped her muttering and was about to say something comforting when he felt something wet on his trouser leg. He trailed off, glancing away from Ruby and towards the drain in the centre of the room; water was flowing up through it. The tank was filling with water.

"Can't focus..." Ruby persisted. "Need... A plan..." She gasped as the water touched her feet, too. It had become a thing between the two of them, Clancy decided - having a plan to see them through the day. Ruby always came up with these, but today it looked like he'd just have to try himself.

"Right; you need to breathe with me." He directed. "In, two, three, four, out, two, three, four..." He had to raise his voice to be heard over the gush over the water, which was up to his waist already - they'd have to stand up soon. Suddenly, he grabbed Ruby and pulled her close to him, taking her hand and holding it on his chest. "Breathe in time with me." He instructed, then sat still whilst she did as she was asked and he formulated the next step of his plan.

About a minute later, the water was up to their shoulders, and Ruby was lucid enough to turn to Clancy and tell him thinly: "I think we should stand up now, Clance."

He nodded in agreement and they got to their feet - the water was only up to their knees now, but rising fast.

"There. That's better, isn't it?" He murmured, knowing the words didn't really mean anything but saying them anyway. A sudden thought occurred to him out of the blue. "Did you wear your watch today?" He asked.

Ruby looked up at him, her her eyebrows furrowed like she was in deep thought. "Smith took it." She answered shortly. Their captor hadn't taken any chances.

"So he has it on him?"

Ruby nodded.

"So theoretically, Hitch can still track it?" Clancy questioned hopefully.

"Theoretically." Ruby nodded distractedly, her eyes on the water now around their waists. Clancy clenched and unclenched his hands, before realising that if Ruby was panicking, surely he was allowed to. This was real life, not Crazy Cops or some spy movie. He'd never saved the day before, not really - why did he think that, for once, he actually could? He began to flap his arms, creating splashes and ripples in the water. Many things seemed inevitable to Clancy, but he had never thought that the method of his own demise would be one of them. He'd hoped, however unlikely it was, that he'd live through all these adventures, that they would become stories. Stories full of twists and turns and humour and horror; stories that he could tell his children, and his children's children. Stories of Ruby Redfort and Clancy Crew.

Clancy's shoulders were quickly soaked, and the two began to tread water together, Ruby's movements far too sharp and rigid.

"Relax." Clancy told her gently.

"I- I can't..." She stammered, glancing up. Her hand flew up to the ceiling, feeling how close they were to it, and she inhaled sharply. "I c-can't do this, Clancy, we're going to d-drown," Her breaths sped up again and her breaststrokes slowed. She started to slip beneath the water, and a wild, lost look filled her eyes. "Can't- breathe-"

Clancy swum towards her and wrapped on arm around her waist, using the other to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, leaving his hand on her cheek when he had done so. "You're ok." He murmured. "I've got you."

"Clancy!" She coughed desperately, grasping his shoulders with both hands. She steadied herself by kicking her legs and managed to keep herself afloat this time. She rested her forehead against Clancy's, and he let her lean into him. Their heads were bumping against the top of the tank now. "I don't want to die, Clancy." Ruby said quietly. "I'm s-sorry, I really tried but there's not enough space and I couldn't think and I-"

Clancy pressed his lips to hers gently, cutting her off mid-sentence. She stiffened and he pulled away reluctantly. Her eyes were wide and she stared at him, an unreadable expression on her face; he opened his mouth to apologise, but she kissed him firmly back before he got the chance. The water had risen to their necks, and they tilted their heads up to take one final breath, and kissed again. The water filled the tank, submerging them, and still they didn't break apart. Hands still linked with hers, Clancy opened his eyes, and the last thing he saw was Ruby, _his_ Ruby, smiling back at him, dark hair fanned around her head in a halo. Then everything went black.

...


	2. After

**A/N: Some people wanted this to be cheesy, some people don't like that sort of thing - hopefully I pleased everyone! (Fingers crossed x) Also, bear in mind that Ruby and Clancy are still teenagers in this, so their relationship is still going to be a little bit innocent, and not as mature as if they were adults.**

 **;D**

...

Ruby Redfort could still feel water surrounding her when she woke up, coughing and spluttering, two minutes later. But this was different: she was lying on her back this time, on a tiled floor, staring up at the ceiling. The icy water was only touching her from the shallow puddle surrounding her, and when she moved her fingertips tentatively across the ground at her sides, she could feel sharp, tiny shards of something pricking at them. _Glass_ , she thought. _Glass, from the tank_.

She groaned and rolled to her side, ignoring the debris around her. Across the room, she could see people.

 _Glass from the tank that she and Clancy were trapped in_.

She shuddered at the thought, coming to a little more and sitting up slowly. She could see... Hitch. She smiled, relieved. Hitch, leaning over someone else, leaning over...

 _Clancy_.

"Hitch?" She got to her feet, swaying only momentarily before she corrected her balance. The Spectrum agent glanced over his shoulder for a second, quickly returning his attention to Clancy.

"Ruby." He said in a low, calm voice that could mean nothing good. "You ok?"

"Yeah." She croaked.

"Good... Good. Stay there for me, kid."

"Clancy?" She called, feeling as though it was all she could bring herself to say. It was only when she received no response and panic stirred her into action that she remembered she didn't have to obey Hitch's orders. Her feet were moving before her brain knew what she was doing. "Clance!" She ran towards him, watching in terror as Hitch began chest compressions on her best friend.

 _CPR_ , a distant part of her mind recalled. _Must mean he's not breathing_.

Hitch didn't look at her as she approached. "What did I just say, Redfort?" He said, keeping his eyes on Clancy.

"Don't act like you expected me to listen to you." Ruby tried to joke, to return some sense of normalcy, but it feel upon deaf ears. "Is he dead?" She surprised herself by saying.

"Not if I can help it." Hitch muttered, breaking his focus to look up at her. "Can you-" He gestured towards Clancy vaguely. "Whilst I-" He continued the chest compressions.

Oh. Ruby thought. _Oh, no._

It was a good job Ruby had paid attention at Spectrum First-Aid Training - otherwise she would have very little idea how she was supposed to _breath_ for another person.

 _"_ The things I do for you, bozo." She muttered to Clancy more than Hitch, but her voice was calm too now, like the agent she was. "Wake up for me, alright?"

...

It took about a minute more for Clancy Crew to do just that. He gasped and tried to sit upright immediately, only to narrowly miss head-butting Ruby and lay straight back down again. "R-Rube?" He managed, but she didn't hear him - she was grabbing his hands and leaning into him and telling him again and again, _I love you._ Tears ran down her face and she was beside herself as she helped him to sit up and lean against the wall behind them. "Ruby-" He tried again, his voice stronger now. She smiled then frowned then hit him in the arm.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again!" She glared at him, cheeks flushed and fists clenched. Clancy could hear Hitch in the background somewhere, asking if he was ok and telling Ruby good-naturedly to stop bothering him, but he couldn't care less about any of that right now. He leaned in and kissed Ruby, pulling her over so she fell beside him. Ruby kissed him back, then leaned in and whispered to him. "Are we going to make a habit of this, buster?"

"If we were, I wouldn't fully object." Clancy grinned.

"To the almost dying or the kissing?" She smiled.

"Honestly? I could do without the almost dying." Clancy replied.

"Sorry, Crew." Hitch stepped towards them, finally interrupting. "I think, with this one, it's an all or nothing kind of deal." His voice was serious, but his eyes were smiling gently.

Clancy knew the answer to this one. This was the kind of thing that _was_ inevitable, in his eyes; always had been. "'All' it is, then." He said, taking Ruby's hand. He heard more agents entering the room in a flurry of noise and Hitch relaying to the arriving medics what had happened, and he almost considered flapping his arms in panic at being the sudden centre of attention. But he didn't. He just stared into Ruby's eyes and she stared into his, and a sort of silent understanding passed between them.

Maybe he'd get his stories after all.

...


End file.
